


Hidden

by someofthissomeofthat11011



Series: 65 Story Challenge [12]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-15
Updated: 2015-06-16
Packaged: 2018-04-04 11:52:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4136445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/someofthissomeofthat11011/pseuds/someofthissomeofthat11011
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Season 1 Episode 12. Takes place when Merlin is asking Gwen if she would kill the king if she had the choice. Merlin tells her that Morgana plans to kill the king. When Merlin goes to stop Morgana, Gwen follows him. She sees him use his magic. Merlin/Gwen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Magic

"You're right. Of course you're right," Merlin said. He could feel his mind spinning. Gwen was right. If Morgana aided in Uther's death, she would never forgive herself. It would make her as bad as Uther. Merlin had to stop her, but how? If he was seen anywhere near Tauren, Uther would assume he was conspiring with sorcerers. The irony.

But Merlin knew he had to stop Morgana. He would just have to be extra cautious. Merlin started to leave. He didn't have a lot of time. They would have already left. Tauren could try to kill the king at any moment.

"Is anything wrong?" Gwen asked concerned.

"No, no," Merlin said quickly. He didn't have time to tell Gwen and it would be dangerous for her to know.

"Merlin," Gwen said in a voice that showed she didn't believe him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Merlin insisted. He glanced out the window in the hallway they were talking in. It would take him about an hour to get to Gorlois's grave. Hopefully Morgana and Uther wouldn't have traveled too quickly. Merlin should get there in time.

Gwen stood in between Merlin and the door at the end of the hallway. "I'm not blind Merlin," she told him sternly. "What is it?"

Merlin contemplated not telling her, but that would only delay his travels. He really needed to leave or it would be too late to save the king. "Morgana intends to kill the king," Merlin said reluctantly. "She asked Tauren for help."

"What?" Gwen said, her eyes widening with horror. As much as she despised Uther, she didn't want Morgana to kill him. "We've got to stop her."

"There's no we. If Uther sees you anywhere near them, he'll assume you're trying to avenge your father's death. Then he'll have you killed. You must stay here," Merlin told her. "I'll stop her. I promise. Everything will be okay. But you need to stay here."

Gwen looked at Merlin. She couldn't deny the truth in his words. "Be careful," she whispered. She kissed Merlin's cheek and then started to walk down the hallway to complete her duties before she could see his reaction. She hoped that he would be okay.

"I will," Merlin promised her. Gwen heard the door close behind him.

Gwen let out the breath she was holding. For several minutes she just stood looking out the window. It was beautiful outside, but she was struggling to see the beauty. Between her father dying and what she knew Morgana was attempting, there was little beauty in her world. She was afraid that Morgana would succeed. Morgana would never forgive herself and Gwen feared what that guilt would do to her friend.

Merlin took a deep breath when the door closed behind him. He knew that he could handle Tauren, but he hated to lie to Gwen. He knew in his heart that he was right to have lied. It was necessary. He pressed his hand to his cheek, it still felt warm from where she kissed him. Merlin only stood there a moment to compose himself before he rushed to the stables and began to prepare for his trip.

As Gwen was walking towards Morgana's chambers to fetch her dirty clothing, Merlin's words hit her. Tauren was a sorcerer. If Morgana had enlisted Tauren's help, there was nothing Merlin could do to stop him. He wouldn't stand a chance against Tauren. Gwen didn't necessarily believe sorcery was evil, but she did believe Tauren was not a good man. Morgana had been consumed by her anger and she lost sight of that. Tauren had left Gwen's father to get arrested. To Gwen, that was unforgivable.

Gwen borrowed a horse from the stables and followed the path she had once taken when she accompanied Morgana to her father's grave. When she was close, she dismounted the horse and looked around, trying to find Merlin. Gwen saw a body on the ground and ran to it. She was terrified that it might be Merlin.

It wasn't. It was a guard. Gwen could see the slash across the guard's stomach and how the blood had spread through his uniform and into the grass. There would be no saving him. Gwen let out a rough breath. She didn't know why she felt so emotional over the dead man before her. She hadn't even known him.

Gwen heard a rustle to her right. She tried to make herself as inconspicuous as possible as she walked through the tall grass. She heard the rustle again, this time it was closer. She saw two men. She recognized them. They had been with Tauren.

Fear curled in Gwen's stomach. She didn't dare move for fear they would hear her. They were much closer than she had anticipated.

Gwen heard someone mutter a strange word and something that can only be described as a bluish white bolt of energy shot out at one of the men. He collapsed to the ground and Gwen didn't see any sign of life in him. There was no rise and fall of his chest, no raspy breathing. She wasn't sure if she should be relieved or terrified.

Gwen looked around trying to find the other threat. After a moment, she saw Merlin holding a strange staff. There was a bluish stone at the top that seemed to be glowing. Gwen studied the staff. It look familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen it before. It took Gwen several moments to process that Merlin was the only person around other than the guard. He was the only one that could have cast that spell. Gwen didn't want to believe it. Fate had other plans.

"Acwele," Merlin shouted, pointing the staff towards the other man. Gwen watched as a bolt of energy shot out of the staff and killed him.

Gwen froze, unable to speak. She was barely able to process what she had just seen. Merlin had been the one to kill the men. Merlin was a sorcerer. He had magic.


	2. The Maidservant

Gwen stood there for a long time, thoughts swirling around her head until she saw Merlin move. Her eyes followed him as if the more she studied him, the more she would understand exactly what he was. Merlin was walking towards a tree where Gwen could vaguely make out a shadowy figure. Gwen hoped it was Tauren. If it wasn't him, it was no doubt some other sorcerer. Gwen wasn't sure how much more she could handle.

The man stepped out of the shadows and sure enough it was Tauren. Tauren noticed Merlin and took a step towards him confidently. "Acwele," Merlin said again. Before the energy could hit him, Tauren pulled out a stone and used it to collect the power from Merlin's spell. He sent it right back to Merlin.

Watching Merlin fall to the ground snapped Gwen out of her haze. She forced herself to stay rooted until Tauren had left. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears. That blast of energy had killed the other two men. She had to pray it wouldn't do the same for him. She cared about Merlin far too much to lose him. No matter what she tried, he stayed oblivious to her feelings. Whether that was because he was truly oblivious or he didn't reciprocate her feelings she didn't know. But she couldn't bear for him to die. "Merlin!" She called after Tauren was out of earshot. She ran to where Merlin was lying. He looked so pale. "Merlin!"

Merlin didn't move when she called his name. Gwen crouched down and brought her hand near his nose. She let out a sigh of relief when she felt spurts of warm air on her hand. He was still breathing. He was alive!

Gwen knew she should be frightened because Merlin was a sorcerer, but she wasn't. Perhaps it was because Morgana constantly complained about how she felt Uther's treatment of anyone who had magic was cruel, but Gwen didn't think Merlin would hurt her. He may have killed two men, but it was so he could save Uther and stop Morgana from doing something she may regret.

Gwen knelt by Merlin and shook him lightly. "Merlin," she called, hoping he would wake up. There was still no movement. Gwen closed her eyes trying to think about what Gaius had always done to awaken those who had been knocked out. Water! Cold water.

Gwen hoped some water would wake him up. She didn't know what else to try. She took her waterskin and poured it over Merlin. He sat up gasping. "What the hell was that?" He asked, looking around him. He remembered what Tauren had done. He brought his hand to his head. It was throbbing. He wasn't entirely surprised. He had just been hit by a burst of energy.

When Merlin noticed Gwen, he looked at her confused. "What are you doing here?" He asked her. Then he went pale. Had she followed him? How much had she seen? "How long have you been here?"

"Long enough, but we can talk about that later. You must save Uther from Tauren. Neither he nor Morgana have the power to combat him," Gwen told him. "And you do. You can save him."

Merlin nodded as he stumbled to his feet. He nearly fell, but Gwen steadied him.

"Are you alright?" Gwen asked him anxiously.

Merlin nodded. "I'm fine. Just a little dizzy," he told her.

Merlin heard the faint sounds of a scuffle. He ran towards the sound and he could hear Gwen behind him. When Merlin saw Tauren, he was wrestling with the king. Tauren held a dagger, but Uther was weaponless. There was a sword on the ground, but it was too far away from them. Uther would never be able to reach it.

Merlin watched as each fought for dominance. Without a weapon, he knew Uther wouldn't have a prayer of defeating Tauren. Merlin waited until it was inevitable that Tauren would kill the king. He had hoped that some miracle would help Uther so he wouldn't have to use magic, but it wasn't meant to be. Tauren was hovering over the king, his arm outstretched with a dagger.

"Acwele seo magdp," Merlin whispered. The last thing he needed was someone noticing him.

Just like that, Tauren died. He collapsed on Uther. Merlin turned to Gwen. "We need to get out of here," Merlin told her. If they were seen, Uther would have them killed. As it was, it was dangerous for them to be this close to them, particularly for Gwen. If Merlin was seen, Arthur might be able to spin some lie to spare him, but Gwen would be shown no mercy.

Uther pushed Tauren off of him and stared at the body. "He's dead," he said confused. "But he has no mortal wounds." Uther could not understand what had happened. One moment Tauren had been alive, the next dead.

There was only one possibility. Sorcery had been used. Perhaps Tauren had killed himself to spare himself a more painful death, but Uther didn't think that was the case. He hadn't heard Tauren say anything.

"I don't know how my lord," Morgana said frightened. She didn't know how Tauren could have just died. It was like magic, but Tauren was the only one here that had magic. Morgana was still frazzled by what had happened. She had been so eager for Uther's death and she hadn't realized until it was upon them how much she didn't want it.

Uther looked around, searching for anything suspicious, and saw two figures disappearing into the woods. He recognized the female. It was Morgana's maidservant. Uther cursed himself. He knew he should have had the girl restrained. She was dangerous. This wasn't the first time that Uther had suspected her of sorcery. Now he had proof.

"It is not safe here," Uther said quietly. He was worried the maidservant might come back and try to do more harm. Morgana was too precious to him for any ill will to befall her. "We must return."

Uther and Morgana were quiet as they returned to Camelot. Morgana was quiet as she contemplated Uther's earlier words. He had admitted he was wrong which was unprecedented for the king. She felt honored that she was one of the few capable of getting through to him.

Uther was quiet as he considered the maidservant. Part of being king was doing what was right even if it might hurt those closest to him. He knew Guinevere was there to avenge her father's death. She must have asked Tauren for help and then killed him when she knew he had no hope for success. It was just like a sorcerer to betray their own kind. There was no sense of loyalty in a sorcerer. Only evil.

Uther knew this would hurt Morgana, but he needed to do what was best for his kingdom. If he allowed a sorceress to reside at the heart of Camelot, her evil and corruption would spread like a disease until she has poisoned every decent man and woman in Camelot. Morgana's maidservant had magic and she couldn't be allowed to live.

**Author's Note:**

> Any feedback is greatly appreciated!


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